AMC : Why The AMX Was Forgotten

this is the history of the amc amx nothing like it had ever come out of kenosha before and nothing like it would ever come out of there again while amc was no slouch in its ability to offer high performance v8 powered cars most car buyers in the 1960s saw the company as being focused on economy and thriftiness not on flashy displays of power but on the heels of the mustang's stunning success amc like every other american manufacturer at the time was forced to recognize that small sporty cars had a place on dealer's lots not just on the showroom turntables amc first responded in september of 1967 with the javelin given the pony car mad public they knew it would sell but with dick teagues urging the company decided to go one step further with the amx in february of 1968 the only mass-produced american two-seat sports coupe aside from the corvette a lot of people saw the amx as a 12-inch shorter derivative of the javelin given the shared body panels and chassis yet amc engineers and stylists designed both the amx and the javelin on separate tracks at the same time american motors promoted the mid model year launch of the amx to automotive journalists at daytona to emphasize its sports car performance as well as with a marketing agreement with playboy enterprises to introduce the amx to its dealers amc held meetings at nine playboy clubs the amx was introduced to the public on february 24 1968 five months after the javelin and other 1968 amc cars the amx was promoted as the only american sports car that costs less than 3 500 american motors advertisements also showed a helmeted race driver revving up at the starting line in one of amc's sporty amx models which it describes as ready to do 125 miles an hour the two-seat amx was meant for a small well-defined market niche and it pulled young people into amc dealer showrooms and never before seen numbers numerous road tests describe the new amx as a handsome two-seater with american style acceleration and european style handling journalists gave it a real run workout on all kinds of terrain and wrote that the amx is one of the best looking cars if not the best looking car made in the usa all amx's came with the four-barrel carbureted small block amc v8 engines in several versions the 290 cubic inch the 343 cubic inch as well as the 390 cubic inch all derived from the same external size block however the three engines differed vastly internally with the smallest engine having small intake and exhaust valves thin block webbing and a cast nodular iron crankshaft the 343 used larger valves with a thicker block webbing and the 390 moved up to a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods as well as larger rod bearings a borg warner t10 four-speed manual transmission was standard as were special traction bars dual exhaust system and fatter tires for better traction a shift command three-speed automatic transmission with the capability of manual shifting was optional together with a floor console mounted shifter a popular go package option came with either the four barrel 343 or 390 engine and included power assisted front disc brakes twin grip differential e70 by 14 red stripe performance tires on six inch wide steel wheels heavy-duty suspension with thicker sway bars heavy duty cooling as well as other performance enhancements a wide range of specialized performance parts were also available through amc dealers for installation on customers cars these were known as group 19 parts because of the way amc organized its parts american motors new two-seater the amx gives you all the fun of sports cars costing thousands more without the bother of constant maintenance just get the 390 engine roll onto a racetrack you're ready to do 125 lines now i'm coming through in 1969 the amx's full second model year saw only slight changes except for a 52 dollar increase in its base price the five spoke magnum 500 steel road wheels were no longer chrome plated but now came with a stainless steel trim ring the racing stripes were now available in five colors the interior featured a revised instrumentation with a 0 to 8 000 rpm tachometer moved to match the speedometer that was only calibrated to 140 miles per hour interior door panels were revised carpeting was upgraded new leather upholstery was optional and the gas pedal became suspended later production cars received a hood over the instruments in the front of the driver trunk capacity was 9.7 cubic feet starting january 1969 all manual transmission amx's came with a hurst floor shifter the center console mounted three-speed shift command automatic remained optional with one two and d forward settings the d mode was for fully automatic operation but the driver could shift manually through all three gears by starting out in the one setting for first gear with no up shift popular mechanics wrote that the 1969 amx preserves the status quo this year being virtually unchanged remains an absolute delight to drive american motors 1970 amx advertising headlined we made the amx look tougher this year because it's tougher this year they were mildly face lifted resembling the first two model years but the changes were different enough to be a separate design for 1970. featured was a new front end design with a longer hood that had a power blister with two large openings these were a functional cold ram air induction system with the popular go package available with the 360 and 390 engines the new grille was flush and full width incorporating the headlamps the revised rear end also featured full width tail lamps and a single center mounted backup light side marker lights were now shared with several other amc models riding on the same wheelbase 97 inch as before the changes increased the amx's overall body length by about 2 inches to 179 inches american motors also changed the amx's engine lineup for 1970 with the introduction of a new 360 cubic inch to replace the 343 the smallest 290 was dropped and amc could claim 65 more base horsepower than the amx's had previously the go package was available with the 360 engine including power front disc brakes f 70 by 14 raised white letter tires handling package heavy duty cooling and the ram air induction system for 298.88 or including the 390 engine for 383.90 the magnum 500 road wheels were now standard but the new machine 15 by 7 inch slot style wheels became a mid-year option the interiors of the amx were also redesigned a broad wood grain dashboard center console and two spoke rim blow steering wheel were new tall bucket seats now featured a clamshell design integrating the headrests leather upholstery was 34 dollars extra the interior rear-view mirror featured a new design and in some cases matched the car's body color motor trends summed up the road test of the 1970 amx with the 390 engine as one of the better constructed cars around described as the best version yet of this blend of muscle car and sports car the 1970 model was also the last true amx well there you have it the history of the mighty amx what was your favorite year do you have one let us know share your story leave a comment below if you like this video give us a thumbs up subscribe and hit that bell for future boca brother videos again thanks for watching the boca brothers car reviews by february 68 by february by february by february 1968 the interior rear view mirror the interior rear view the interior rear the interior rear view mirror the interior rear view mirror but they now came with regular car but they now came with regular chrome but they now came with regular chrome bumpers but they now came with regular chrome bumpers

Channel: This Old Car

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Id: 2e3DzdzbjaY

Length: 9min 36sec (576 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 18 2022